The President discusses ongoing efforts to spur job creation. He also explains why health insurance reform is needed not just for long-term economic stability, but in the immediate future, discussing statistics on how costs will continue to skyrocket and hurt small businesses even next year.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Conservatives cheer that Chicago loses the 2016 Olympic bid. I had my own reasons for Chicago not getting the bid, being from here, but if they got it I would have been happy. In fact, I never heard of anyone from either party HAPPY that any U.S. city lost the Olympic bid, until now. Obama had a right to go swing for the fences for his hometown and an American city that happens to be Chicago. To polarize this is too much, seeing this sends a negative message all around which will not be good for the GOP and scores no political points for the GOP, in the end.

The worse part of this is Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) was the middle man attempting to pay off Ensign's mistress and knew the implications. The full article is here. The problem with Ensign is that he KNEW that paying his mistress' husband and family off was ILLEGAL. Right now the issue is can he survive and will he be re-elected. And Republican Leadership in D.C. have distanced themselves from Ensign.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell passed on several opportunities to defend two embattled GOP senators Friday as a new report raised questions about Sen. John Ensign's efforts to cover up his affair with a campaign aide.

McConnell refused to answer several questions about the report, which provided new details of the aftermath of the nine-month affair that Ensign had with campaign aide Cynthia Hampton, the wife of the senator's chief of staff at the time. Ensign eventually dismissed them both.

The Republican leader also refused to comment on new details that Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., tried to broker a payment of restitution from Ensign to the Hamptons.

McConnell, R-Ky., had been asked about a report in The New York Times that said Ensign tried to get Doug Hampton, his lover's husband, a lobbying job to try to contain the damage. The Hamptons later went through Coburn to seek an $8.5 million settlement from the Nevada Republican before the affair became public, the paper said.

Other Senate Republicans took McConnell's lead: none immediately came to the defense of their embattled colleagues.

It was not immediately clear what Ensign's political future held. The Senate Ethics Committee automatically opened a preliminary investigation into his conduct after receiving a complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in June. The panel, which conducts business in strict confidentiality, can launch investigations on lawmakers on its own without receiving a complaint from an outside party.

The Times report raised questions about whether Doug Hampton lobbied Ensign and whether the senator facilitated the arrangement. Federal criminal law imposes a one-year ban on former congressional aides lobbying their ex-bosses or office colleagues. read more here...

And this is what will nail Ensign to the wall:

Now, Ensign is making himself scarce again, after The New York Times reported that he helped Hampton find work as a lobbyist and that Hampton lobbied Ensign on behalf of his clients. Hampton told the newspaper that he and Ensign were aware of a ban on Hampton's lobbying his former boss or Ensign's staff, but chose to ignore it.

Neither Hampton nor his attorney, Daniel J. Albregts, returned telephone calls to The Associated Press for comment. Ensign's office responded to the Times story with an e-mail noting that it had previously been publicized that the senator helped Hampton get two jobs. Ensign's office did not reply to further questions.

I have been writing consistently about the bleak job news. The Obama Administration has been preparing us for 10% unemployment, but the question is this, "How long are people going to sit out and continue for this to be ok?"

Right now, Obama has temporary cover called the Bush Administration, but by this time next year that cover will be gone. Next year, Americans will want to start seeing MOVEMENT in job growth and wages. If we don't, the economy will continue in a free fall, people will start to point that finger at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and all that fairy dust that many have on Barack Obama will disappear.

This is from Dan Froomkin, Huffington Post, a must worth read:

Nowhere is the massive disconnect between Washington D.C. and the rest of the country more striking than when it comes to the issue of jobs.

Inside Washington, it is almost universally considered a foregone conclusion that unemployment will remain near, at, or even above 10 percent -- not just for months, but for years to come. (The unemployment rate in September, we just found out this morning, ticked up yet again, to 9.8 percent.) As White House economic guru Larry Summers dispassionately told reporters last month (while otherwise taking credit for turning the economy around), "The level of unemployment is unacceptably high and will on all forecasts remain unacceptably high for a number of, for a number of years."

This situation creates no sense of urgency in Washington. Ask Summers what he's going to do about it, for instance, and he hems and haws about recovery act programs that have yet to take full effect. To our political elite, jobs are simply nowhere near as critical an issue as the other economic indicators, the stock market, or the financial health of the nation's top bankers.

Outside the Beltway, however, it's a different story. According to a new poll by Hart Research Associates for the Economic Policy Institute, unemployment and the lack of jobs "remains the dominant problem on the economic agenda for voters across party lines." In fact, it's not even close. Asked to name the most important economic problem facing the country, registered voters cited unemployment twice as often as they mentioned the deficit or even the cost of health care; and four times as much as the housing crisis or problems with the banking system.

A whopping 83 percent see unemployment as either a fairly big or very big problem; and 81 percent say the Obama administration hasn't done enough to deal with it. read more here....

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama meets with General Stanley McChrystal and his wife

President Barack Obama summoned his top commander in Afghanistan for a 25-minute meeting aboard Air Force Oneon Friday as part of his review of a war strategy that has divided the president's national security team.

Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Obama met just before the president returned to Washington from Copenhagen, where he was pitching the International Olympic Committee on Chicago's bid to host the 2016 games.

McChrystal had been in London, where he said in a speech Thursday that insurgents are gaining strength in Afghanistan and more troops are needed to "buy time" for the Afghan military and police forces to prepare to take control of the country in 2013. read more here....

No Olympics, no big deal, but the unemployment numbers continuing to rise and no jobs in sight for many Americans. Not good news, all around.

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, the highest since June 1983, as employers cut far more jobs than expected.

The report shows that the worst recession since the 1930s is still inflicting widespread pain and underscores one of the biggest threats to the nascent economic recovery: that consumers, worried about job losses and stagnant wages, will restrain spending. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the nation's economy.

Most analysts expect the economy to continue to improve, but at a slow, uneven pace. Government stimulus efforts, such as the Cash for Clunkers auto rebates, likely boosted the economy in the July-September quarter, but economists worry that growth will slow once the impact of such programs fades. read more here....

The way I am reading this is that Steve Schmidt, former McCain 2008 Campaign Manager is giving himself an inoculation shot, EARLY. Why? The book is not due until mid-November, but some of the complaints that Palin had about the management of the McCain Campaign was warranted and he was the top gun, so any criticism will be focused on him front and center.

As part of the Aspen Institute’s Washington Ideas Forum in Washington, DC this morning, Steve Schmidt was asked about Sarah Palin’s upcoming book, “Going Rogue,” and about her 2012 potential.

"I think that she has talent," Schmidt said, "but my honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party in 2012," according to the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein.

Schmidt added that it was not "inconceivable that she could be Republican nominee for president of the United States."

But, according to Stein, Schmidt said it would be "fairly inconceivable" that she could end up being president. "In fact, were she to be the nominee we could have a catastrophic election," said Schmidt.

Catastrophic? We knew if she was Vice-President in 2008 after her television performances and lack of knowledge that she would be catastrophic as "one heart beat" away from the presidency. So, dumping on her now is kind of hypocritical to me, because Schmidt knew who he got when he convinced McCain to pick her and that is not much politically or policy wise. And now, he wants to dump on her prior to her book coming out? Remember Schmidt, it was your campaign decision to pick her and put her in the spot she is in now, not the other way around.

And Palin's book? It will be a hot mess, she did not write jack, but gave a lot of hot button one-liners that the ghost writer jumped on to make a memoir. She will talk about everyone, it won't depend on which party you are in, if you made her an enemy she will call you out. In other words, nothing new from her.

I kinda knew that Rio had the inside track, being that the Olympics Games never were in South America. Next, the IOC knew before FLOTUS, Michelle Obama even appeared in Copenhagen for the pitch. And now, Chicago knocked out in the first round.

Chicago was eliminated in the first ballot of voting for the 2016 Olympics on Friday, a stunning defeat for the city that was expected to be one of the two finalists. Not even the presence of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama — nor a long list of celebrities — was enough to help the United States’ third-largest city.

Chicago had seemed to pick up momentum in the last few days, with many International Olympic Committee members seemingly charmed by Mrs. Obama. But when IOC president Jacques Rogge announced the results of the first vote, Chicago’s name was announced.

Tokyo was the next city eliminated, leaving Madrid and Rio de Janeiro as the remaining cities eligible as IOC voting continued.

Earlier, Chicago, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid made final pitches to the International Olympic Committee, with President Barack Obama and Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pitting their star power against each other in emotional pushes for their cities. read more here.....

And President Obama? He stood up to lobby for his country. Loser, Mayor Daley, who put the pressure on the White House to get involved in this and now look at it. Personally, I wrote earlier that I wished the President would not get involved and that FLOTUS was enough, well just look what happened. In the end, a lesson learned for President Obama, the Obama White House and Chicago politics.

Upon conclusion of the P5+1 meeting regarding Iran, President Obama sends a strong message on behalf of the international community: Iran must take “concrete action” in regards to its nuclear program. October 1, 2009.

I mean, you are driving a big rig or have a bus load of school children and you got to take your eyes off the road to text??? YES, BAN IT IMMEDIATELY. These drivers are hazardous on the road!!

The Obama administration said Thursday it will seek to ban text messaging by interstate bus drivers and truckers and push states to pass their own laws against driving cars while distracted.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the administration also would move to put restrictions on cell phone use by rail operators, truck drivers and interstate bus drivers.

"Driving while distracted should just feel wrong — just as driving without a seat belt or driving while intoxicated," LaHood said at the end of a two-day conference on the problem. "We're not going to break everyone of their bad habits — but we are going to raise awareness and sharpen the consequences." read it here...

All the nastiness, much coming from the Republican/GOP side, eventually will end one way or another. The Republicans were successful in driving President Obama's numbers down, but unsuccessful in raising their numbers up. At this point, President Obama's numbers have recovered some but mostly stabled, on the other hand the Republican's numbers are still in the tank. Knowing all this, you will then realize that what you are doing is not working. This has been the Republican's problems, the public though appears asleep are not always asleep, and when you have the internet for folks to perform their own fact check, eventually what comes out of your mouths are painted as lies and the public moves on.

Maybe, Graham is now the first Republican who has just had enough of the continued bullshit and lies that have festered from all these, "conservative talk show hosts."

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama meets with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge at a hotel in Copenhagen, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. Michelle Obama has joined the Chicago 2016 bid team who are competing with Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro for the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The IOC will choose the winning city in a vote on Friday, Oct. 2, in Copenhagen.

The economy may be on the mend for the economists, but out here in the real world, not so much. The job loss continues, the job fairs continues to bring out folks in the thousands, many 2-year colleges are seeing a boom of older students out of jobs, unemployment continues to extend, and the phrase, "there are no jobs out there" is becoming common.

First-time claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week in the U.S., a sign employers are reluctant to hire and the job market remains weak.

The Labor Department says initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 551,000 from 534,000 in the previous week. Wall Street economists expected an increase of 5,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

A federal judge orders the FBI interview of Dick Cheney, former Vice President of the United States, be released to the public. This is the first of many "releases" that will eventually come out.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the FBI must publicly reveal much of its notes from an interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney during the investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative.

Cheney agreed to be interviewed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in June 2004 during the investigation of the leak of Valerie Plame's identity after her husband publicly criticized the Bush administration. Both the Bush and Obama administrations said they wanted to keep the interview confidential because future presidents, vice presidents and their senior staff may not cooperate with criminal investigations if they know what they say could became public.

But U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled there was no justification to withhold the entire 67 pages of FBI records documenting Fitzgerald's interview since the Plame leak investigation has concluded. He said that limited parts could be withheld to protect national security and private communications between the president and vice president.

Insurance executives during a September meeting assured investors that, no matter what happens in health system reform, their companies would continue to exist.

A few days later, before members of Congress, a panel of executives for some of the same companies laid out reasons why the companies should continue to exist.

The timing was coincidental. But as the debate over health system reform began to narrow in focus, health plans appeared confident that their business model would stay essentially the same, and could even get a boost from reform.

With the potential for a public plan that would compete with private plans in flux, and a requirement for people to have health insurance gaining traction, executives told investors that reform could represent a large pool of new customers, rather than a threat to profits."We think the ability to reform the insurance markets has the potential to bring a substantial number of new customers to the market," Aetna Chief Executive Officer and Chair Ronald Williams told investors and analysts at the New York conference, hosted by Morgan Stanley

The boost from reform is the mandatory purchase of health insurance. This is a stickler, one that President Obama has not REMOVED from the many remarks, speeches he has made. So, if the American Public MUST purchase this insurance, like car insurance, then there should be no problem with a government run public option. Right?

Right now, the Republicans and the Republican-Lite Democrats are hell bent on preserving the status quo, with very little change. These people are trying to sell incremental or baby steps in any possible way to the public. At this point, the feeling of the Democratic Party and many Independents is good luck in trying that one.

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama alights her plane as she arrives at Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Michelle Obama has joined the Chicago 2016 bid team who are competing with Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro for the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The IOC will choose the winning city in a vote on Friday Oct. 2 in Copenhagen.

Last night here in this chamber I gave a speech. I’m not going to recount every single thing that I said, but I will point out that immediately after that speech, several Republicans asked me to apologize.

Well, I would like to apologize. I would like to apologize to the dead. And here’s why.

According to this study, "Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults" which was published two weeks ago, 44,789 Americans die every year because they have no health insurance. That’s right, 44,789 Americans die every year, according to this Harvard study called "Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults." You can see it by going to our website, grayson.house.gov.

That is more than ten times the number of Americans who have died in the war in Iraq. It’s more than ten times the number of Americans who died in 9/11. But that was just once: this is every single year. That’s right: every single year.

Take a look at this. Read it and weep. And I mean that – read it and weep because of all these Americans who are dying because they don’t have health insurance.

Now I think we should do something about that, and the Democratic healthcare plan does do something about that. It makes healthcare affordable for those who can’t afford insurance, and it saves these peoples’ lives.

Let’s remember that we should care about people even after they’re born. So I call upon the Democratic members of the House, I call upon the Republican members of the House, I call upon all of us to do our jobs for the sake of America – for the sake of those dying people and their families.

I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.

This fall while members of Congress toil in the U.S. Capitol, working to decide how or even whether to reform the country's health care system, one floor below them an elaborate Navy medical clinic -- described by those who have seen it as something akin to a modern community hospital -- will be standing by, on-call and ready to provide Congress with some of the country's best and most efficient government-run health care.

I can't help but think that clinic, those on stand by could be used to the many out here who NEEDS proper and immediate health care.

Those who don't understand or get it, I do.

Many in this country don't have the time to wait. Many in this country need help now. Many, who do go to emergency rooms, get propped up stable and sent home. These private hospitals don't want to be bothered, if you don't have that pristine card, called the insurance card.

But we have to read articles like this on the elaborate, state-of-the-art facilities for members of congress. We have to read about these doctors, nurses, technicians just waiting around until they are needed for congress. And we are not supposed to be angry at congress for their lack of empathy, consideration, and understanding for the health of the American Public?

We have every right to be angry because this is just not right.

"A member walked in and was generally walked right back into a physician's office. They get good care. They are not rushed. They are examined thoroughly," said Eduardo Balbona, an internist in Jacksonville, Fa., who worked as a staff physician in the OAP from 1993 to 1995.

"You have time to spend to get to know your patients and think about them and really think about how you preserve their health going forward," Balbona said. "We're not there to put on Band-Aids. We were there to make sure that everything possible that could be done [is done] to preserve that member of Congress."

Did you read the emphasis I put on the above? They are there to provide top notch service, to make sure that member of congress is preserved, that the individual lives. Why is this so hard for congress to understand for the American Public? The members of congress are selfish to the core. We, the American Public, the taxpayer is paying for this Gold Star, Rolls Royce service that they and their families are receiving.

When is this going to get right for the public?

And for just a basic incident, members of congress get the following immediately:

Services offered by the Office of the Attending Physician include physicals and routine examinations, on-site X-rays and lab work, physical therapy and referrals to medical specialists from military hospitals and private medical practices. According to congressional budget records, the office is staffed by at least four Navy doctors as well as at least a dozen medical and X-ray technicians, nurses and a pharmacist.

Sources said when specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress.

"If you had, for example, prostate cancer, you would go to one of the centers of excellence for the country, which would be Johns Hopkins. If you had coronary artery disease, we would engage specialists at the Cleveland Clinic. You would go to the best care in the country. And, for the most part, nobody asked what your insurance was," Balbona said.

These services are what the public needs, but many are denied because they don't have insurance, not enough insurance, a pre-existing condition, etc. But not members of congress, they are not questioned at all; they get the best that this country can provide.

This is the disparity that we are fighting about. Every person in this country should be treated like members of congress, with no questions asked, but we are not. Many of us have to FIGHT just to have a basic test performed; this is not only wrong but inhumane.

And if the congress critter did not pay?

In 2008, 240 members paid the annual fee, though some sources say congressmen who didn't pay the fee were rarely prevented from using OAP services.

Wow, does anyone know a hospital that will just see you for free? Even the county hospitals don't want to see you if you can't pay something on that bill!!

The Democrats have a wonderful opportunity in their lap; it is called passing real health care reform. If they miss out on this opportunity, they will miss out on many voting for them. It really is simple as that. Taking up for the insurance companies is criminal, after all the things they have done to many Americans, these companies are not on the side of the American Public. This fall is going to be a hoot. The Democrats will either grow a spine and stand with the public, or continue to take that insurance company pay check and side with the status quo.

However it comes out, the public will know what to do. It will start in 2010.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has cancelled the Senate’s Columbus Day recess so that lawmakers can focus on passing healthcare reform legislation during the week of Oct. 12.

Reid said the Senate would likely take up healthcare legislation on the chamber floor that week.

[snip]

The pressure on Democrats to pass healthcare reform, however, has raised the stakes. Some Senate aides speculated that Reid did not want to give conservative activists a chance to stall progress by staging a second round of angry demonstrations during townhall-style meetings over the recess.

“The Columbus Day [recess] is fast approaching,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “It’s the week after next and with all the things going on here, it just would not be right for us to take that week off.”

I guess the Democrats got the message, letting the Republicans run home for a week is more television rhetoric of "I want my country back" crap. I just wished they had thought about that when they left for the whole month of August, without a bill.

President Obama and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former President of Denmark, address the press after meeting in the Oval Office to discuss progress in Afghanistan. September 29, 2009.

Ben Nelson states he is a Democrat, but he sure tows or follows the Republican line. He is not for real health care reform, definitely not for the public option. His history is one riddled with closeness to the insurance industry, hell he was a former insurance regulator in his State of Nebraska. So, how he will vote is nothing new, but he did not have any problems with reconciliation for the Bush's Tax Cuts for the rich, in fact he was lock step with the Republicans on that vote. But expecting him to vote or do the right thing for the American Public? Don't hold your breath on that one.

Now that Sen. Ben Nelson, (D-Neb.) has definitively stated that he opposes the use of reconciliation to pass health care reform, it's worth noting that on at least two previous occasions the Nebraska Democrat had no qualms supporting the budgetary procedure as a means of passing legislation.

On May 26, 2001, Nelson was one of a dozen Democrats to support president George W. Bush's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001: the massive tax cut package that defined the administration's plans for job growth. The bill was passed using reconciliation -- meaning it wasn't subject to a Democratic filibuster -- and received the support of 58 Senators.

Two years later, Bush had introduced a second tax-cut package, this one entitled The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. That too was passed through reconciliation with Nelson's vote proving even more critical. The Nebraskan was one of only two Democrats to back the measure, giving it exactly the 50 votes needed to become law (Vice President Dick Cheney voted yea to break the impasse).

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I don't know how this health insurance reform will play out. Right now, it is not playing out well.

Sure, we need a bill out of conference, but who is going to defend the public option once out of conference?

We have a lot of sorry ass Democrats who are not listening to their constituents, taking marching orders from health insurance companies and doing it while screwing us, the American Public.

With no public option, it now means that Senate Leader Harry Reid has to whip the Democrats together, but he does not do that well. That fact is that he is trying to raise money while BLAMING REPUBLICANS for the debacle called, "health insurance reform". The truth is the obstructionists have never been Republicans (we always new they would not vote for shit), but have been the Democrats.

Blanche Lincoln, Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, please don't send me any emails or mailers because I am truly not feeling ANY OF YOU. And Harry? I could care less. As my mother told me today, "everything coming from these Democratic groups goes in the garbage until they get their priorities and act together."

This is all about the Republicans crying that Obama will make a day trip to pitch the 2016 Olympics for Chicago. Republicans, Chicago, Illinois is part of the United States of America (last I heard), but you would think differently with the GOP. Good job, Gibbs.

Again, Democrats if you insist on having a very hard 2010, listen to your constiuents who DO WANT THE PUBLIC OPTION and not the insurance companies who are threatening you by withdrawing support. That is what his going on here, bought and sold sorry Democrats in congress.

The Senate Finance Committee can't even endorse a modest public option like Chuck Schumer's. Citing his belief that a public option can't pass on the Senate floor "at this time," Finance chairman Max Baucus joined two Democrats and all Republicans in voting down the amendment, which failed 10 to 13.

Joining Baucus on the Democrats' side of the dais were Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and, by proxy, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) who wasn't present for the vote.

Notice Blanche Lincoln is no where to be found. And her state, Arkansas wants a public option.

After debating all morning and well into the afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee voted against an amendment, written by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) that would have added a public option to the panel's health care reform bill.

I was always wondering who would get the first State Dinner and this one goes to India. It is all about diplomacy and the rift in Afghanistan, Pakistan with India on tow.

And the first state dinner of President Barack Obama's administration goes to ... India.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is coming to America for a state visit Nov. 24, just before Thanksgiving. Such visits include an elaborate arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, one-on-one time with the president and, in the evening, a state dinner.

It's a plum presidential nod of recognition for the world's largest democracy and most stable U.S. ally in a hostile corner of the world.

But why India first?

It was just four years ago that President George W. Bush and Singh raised their glasses and toasted the U.S.-India relationship at the start of a July 2005 state dinner.

Indian officials, however, have watched warily since then as the U.S. has become more engaged with its archrival, Pakistan, focusing on greater military cooperation in dealing with Islamist extremists there and in neighboring Afghanistan. Honoring Singh with what is considered one of the grandest and most glamorous of White House affairs 10 months into Obama's presidency may allay some of those concerns, along with perceptions that Pakistan has surpassed India as America's best friend in South Asia.

It also may be Obama's way of closing the loop with all the major U.S. allies as his freshman year in office draws to a fast close. read more here....

RedState contributor Brian Faughnan suggested on MSNBC that White House political affairs director Patrick Gaspard was formerly a "senior" official at ACORN -- a charge that was discredited minutes later by the Politico's Ben Smith. During the segment, MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan did not challenge Faughnan's statement and did not point out to the audience that MSNBC had not verified that the charge was true.

This is why these opinionated shows are just that OPINIONS that are not FACT CHECKED and Dylan Ratigan in the end was played. h/t oliver willis

And we want that? Remember, this is insurance welfare for an industry that could care less about Americans health. h/t Daily Kos

The Senate Finance Committee’s legislation does not require large employers that self insure to abide by the same rules and regulations as insurers operating in the Exchange or the individual health insurance markets. As Rockefeller explained during mark-up, "you are grandfathering in an unfairness in the insurance market, where you treat 50 percent of the American people in one way...and 46 percent in a very favored way without restrictions, without discipline." "Most people don’t know that they are treated so differently. Most people don’t know that they have these restrictions on them," Rockefeller said....

Self-insured plans — which are regulated by a law called ERISA — do not have to accept Americans with pre-existing conditions, or remove caps on out-of-pocket or lifetime expenses. "As many as 73 million people, or 55% of those who get insurance through private-sector jobs, are covered in self-insured plans, according to the non-partisan Employee Benefit Research Institute. Workers are often not aware their plans are self-insured because employers hire insurance companies to process claims."

Will it ever end? I don't think so, not as long as his skin color is not white. Sorry, but we all know what this is about.

Trent Franks of Arizona said in a speech to conservatives Saturday in St. Louis that Obama's decision to fund international family planning organizations that support legal abortion shows "he has no place in any station of government and we need to realize that he is an enemy of humanity."

Bethany Haley, spokeswoman for Franks, said the congressman was referring to "unborn humanity" and should have clarified his statement.

I did not participate in the poll, as it was just shocking to be honest, but the responsibility of Facebook needs to be put on blast. I don't know how they monitor their site, but this never should have gotten posted and it seemed like it took FOREVER before Facebook removed the link.

The U.S. Secret Service is investigating an online survey that asked whether people thought President Barack Obama should be assassinated, officials said Monday. The choices were: No, Maybe, Yes, and Yes if he cuts my health care.

The poll, posted Saturday on Facebook, was taken off the popular social networking site quickly after company officials were alerted to its existence.

A Facebook official said the question was created not by the company but by an independent person using an add-on application that has been suspended from the site.

"The third-party application that enabled an individual user to create the offensive poll was brought to our attention this morning," said Barry Schnitt, Facebook's spokesman for policy.

Because the application was disabled, the responses to the nonscientific polls are not available.

"We're working with the U.S. Secret Service, but they'll need to provide any details of their investigation," Schnitt said.

"We are aware of [the poll], and we will take the appropriate investigative steps," said Darrin Blackford, a Secret Service spokesman. "We take these things seriously."

Some people out here are just dumb. Making any threat, let me repeat, any threat against the President of the United States is taken serious by the Secret Service and immediately investigated. Don't believe me, just read through this. Even if you are joking and many don't find killing someone a joke, your ass will be hauled in for questioning.

The hate for President Obama is real and on 24/7, that is why the Secret Service don't take any threat lightly.

The people who came? Working class people, ones with jobs, or just lost their health care insurance. And we don't need HEALTH CARE REFORM? Texas is the number one state with lack of health care insurance for its citizens. From morning joe:

This is a clip from Rachel Maddow's show of Burns' new series coming to PBS this fall. These parks, along with state parks are one of the few free pleasures any family can enjoy. The series started last night on PBS. Information on the series, here, h/t to Eclectablog for the reminder of this series and watch part one of this series, here.

President Barack Obama will travel to Denmark this week to support Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to the president, told The Associated Press Monday morning that Obama will leave Thursday and join his wife, Michelle, in Copenhagen, where they'll make the pitch to the International Olympic Committee. Obama would be the first U.S. president to take on such a direct role in lobbying for an Olympics event.

The International Olympic Committee is meeting in Copenhagen to select a host city for the 2016 Summer Games. Chicago faces tough competition from Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.

Obama, who represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate after serving in the Illinois Legislature, is a longtime supporter of Chicago's bid. He and Michelle consider it their adopted home town, and he recently sent letters to selected IOC members, promising a "spectacular Olympic experience for one and all."

"President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama symbolize the hope, opportunity and inspiration that makes Chicago great, and we are honored to have two of our city's most accomplished residents leading our delegation in Copenhagen," Mayor Richard M. Daley said in a statement. "Who better to share with members of the International Olympic Committee the commitment and enthusiasm Chicago has for the Olympic and Paralympic Movement than the President and First Lady." read more here....

The big question is how Chicago will pay for the Olympics? One of Cook County's taxes is already 10%. That is extremely high. Many in Chicago, including my mother, are not on the Olympic bandwagon, she as many others in the city and in Cook County are wondering how Chicago will pay for the Olympics. The displacement of many African-Americans on the South and West Sides is real. The displacement of the poor, is real. But not taking anything away from the city, logistically it is prime property for the Olympics with several colleges and university campuses ready, Washington Park is ready, Douglas Park, etc., so Chicago is ready but is the money ready? That is a question that many are asking Mayor Daley right now as he too, heads for Denmark.

Chicago will probably get the Olympics and I will be nowhere near it, with the exception of watching it on television.

While the health care battle and soon the Afghanistan battle will wage in, the biggest battle is this economy. No battle with scars and skid marks left on you is more apparent than not being able to find a job.

Health care Obama's Waterloo? It never was, it has always been the economy and lack of jobs.

I continue to state this because nothing is easier for the American Public to understand than losing your job, losing your health insurance, losing your savings, which affects you and your family directly.

I have a niece that is finishing college in the spring, only to STAY IN SCHOOL because of her fear on not being able to find a job. This reality is real and if it does not start to turn in 2010 and looking upward in 2012, this is the issue that can bring the Democrats and Obama down.

The public has a short memory, remember that.

The unemployment rate for young Americans has exploded to 52.2 percent -- a post-World War II high, according to the Labor Dept. -- meaning millions of Americans are staring at the likelihood that their lifetime earning potential will be diminished and, combined with the predicted slow economic recovery, their transition into productive members of society could be put on hold for an extended period of time.

And worse, without a clear economic recovery plan aimed at creating entry-level jobs, the odds of many of these young adults -- aged 16 to 24, excluding students -- getting a job and moving out of their parents' houses are long. Young workers have been among the hardest hit during the current recession -- in which a total of 9.5 million jobs have been lost.

"It's an extremely dire situation in the short run," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute. "This group won't do as well as their parents unless the jobs situation changes."

Al Angrisani, the former assistant Labor Department secretary under President Reagan, doesn't see a turnaround in the jobs picture for entry-level workers and places the blame squarely on the Obama administration and the construction of its stimulus bill.

"There is no assistance provided for the development of job growth through small businesses, which create 70 percent of the jobs in the country," Angrisani said in an interview last week. "All those [unemployed young people] should be getting hired by small businesses." read more here....

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